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People with too much money have been reported over the years to have paid enormous sums for "prestigious" license plates, usually the lowest-numbered. In China, the number 8 is regarded as lucky, and a man identified only as "Liu" obtained Shanghai province's plate "88888"â€”for which he paid the equivalent of $149,000. Shanghaiist.com reported in June that "Lucky" Liu was forced into annoying traffic stops by police eight times the first day because officers were certain that the plate was bogus.

• Greenland's first "world-class tourist attraction," opening in 2020, offers visitors a "stunning view" of the rapidly melting ice sheets from the area's famous, 250,000-year-old Jakobshavn Glacier. The United Nations-protected site is promoting a "tourist" vista that some call "ground zero for climate change"â€”and which others hope won't be completely melted by 2020.